After the Mancation
by Aunna
Summary: Life after the mancation is far from perfect, with all the explosions, kidnappings, and misunderstandings, but that's okay. For Moshimo, it's the chance to be the father he never had the chance to be. For Tommy, it's the opportunity to finally have a parent who cares about him, not what he can or can't do. They'll make this dysfunctional little family work, no matter the cost.


**Author's Note:**

** I really didn't think that anyone would actually read _'Mancation What-If' _when I originally wrote it. I remember so clearly the first review I got for it and being so excited, then having it become disappointment when I saw it was just some person telling me to stop S.O.P.A. You can imagine my surprise when I got on earlier this week and saw these wonderful reviews!**

** So, due to the request by MasterMeister999 I am making up this little piece, which will become a collection of pieces about the lives of Tommy, Moshimo, and Robotboy after the adoption. I am so excited to start this piece (Robotboy was one of my favorite cartoons when I was younger!) and I hope that you will be just as pleased reading it as I was writing it!**

**Strange Beginnings**

The first few weeks are awkward and strained. The two can get along just great when they are working on Robotboy, but the moment the little robot is repaired and there is nothing else to build the atmosphere becomes tense and the two quickly leave the vicinity, sometimes resulting in Tommy taking a fall because he's moving faster than he can move his crutches. But, he never touches the ground, Moshimo always managed to catch him.

The first week back at school is the same way. No one is quite sure what to say to him. Some come up and tell him that they're sorry for his loss. Others offer to carry his things, though he knows the only reason they're asking is because they get to leave class five minutes early. But his friends are still the same. Gus still complains about everything under the sun and Lola tries to keep him in check when he starts complaining about how they never get to hang out with Tommy anymore. One day, they're half-way to where Tommy's house use to stand before they remember that he lives with Moshimo now.

Everything stays the same until Tommy finally gets his cast removed. All hell practically breaks loose the moment Tommy leaves the lab. On the way to school he runs into Bambi, who completely breaks his heart once again. Then, once he gets there, he runs into Kurt, who gives him a black eye and shoves his head into the toilet. Not to mention all the name-calling he endures because Donnie told one of his friends about the camping trip. He doesn't know how many people call him Peter Pan because said friend handed out pictures.

The worse has to be Gus. He joins in on the name-calling as well and, though Tommy hides it well, he's hurt. Gus knows how his family was and he still makes fun of him. Tommy could be making fun of him for a million things but he doesn't because he's Gus' friend, so why is he making fun of him? Lola tries her best to make Gus stop and protect him from hearing the worst of it, but Tommy still hears the words. The worst of it comes when a boy a few grades above him claims that Tommy planned the whole thing so he didn't have to come home.

Miumiu is the one to pick him up that day. She acts more like a mother than his own was, so when she sees the black eye she is furious. She doesn't say anything, but her eyes are a dead give-away. The hug Tommy receives isn't all that unexpected, she's more of a touchy person than the professor is. But the hug doesn't get rid of the pain he feels. It's all his fault!

His father's incarceration is all his fault. If he hadn't come on the stupid mancation it would have just been Donnie and him. Tommy would have never fell off the stupid rock and broken his leg. There would have been no reason for Robotboy to call Moshimo, which meant that the professor would have never called the authorities and his father would have never been arrested. He would still be free and talking about fishing trips and the next mancation.

If he hadn't gone, his brother would still be with him. He wouldn't have been put into the boy's home with him. Donnie wouldn't have been adopted, only to be returned not even a week later because he was bullying the younger kids in the house. From what Moshimo had told him the last time he had asked about his brother he had been adopted another three times, only to be returned each time for the same reason as the first. He was in the process of being adopted again, but if he kept it up, he was going to be sent to a military school.

Maybe the fire wouldn't have started if he hadn't gone. Or, if it had, he could have gotten his mother out safely. She would have been in the living fixing her nails right now if he had stayed home. As much as he hated the fact that she never saw anything bad with what Donnie did to him, he loved her. She was the one who carried him for nine months. She was the one who got up at all hours of the night to take care of him when he was a baby. It was all his fault that she was dead.

The moment Miumiu stopped the car he ran. He couldn't take being in such close quarters with someone so nice when he had done something so awful! He was the sole reason behind his family's downfall and everyone else had gotten the short end of the stick. He didn't deserve Miumiu's hugs, Professor Moshimo's kindness, or Robotboy. He was poison, destroying any and everything he touched.

The door to the room Moshimo had given he slammed shut behind him and Tommy made sure to lock it as well. He didn't want to talk to anyone anytime soon. He didn't deserve to talk to anyone, he ruined everything!

There were voices outside the door. Tommy recognized them as Moshimo and Miumiu. They sounded worried, but he refused to open the door. He could deal with his problems alone; he just needed them to go away so he could do so.

It took a half an hour, but the two eventually left the door and Tommy sprang into action. He grabbed the old duffel bag the boy's home gave him when he first arrived and stuffed some of his clothes in it. Then he grabbed the Human Fist action figure Lola was able to save from the ashes of his house and threw that in too. He didn't grab much more, just a blanket and a pillow, and then turned to Robotboy. As much as it pained him to leave him behind, he couldn't take the little robot. He had a tracking device implanted in him and there was no way Tommy would be able to keep up his repairs. So, with a heavy heart, he slipped off the watch and sat it next to Robotboy before opening the window and disappearing into the wilderness.

It took an hour to reach the nearest town and Tommy had never been more relieved to see civilization. But, he couldn't stop here. He needed to put as much distance between him and the professor's lab if he was going to have a chance at avoiding him. If he stayed here, he would be found fairly quickly. He knew that the professor would come looking for him; he didn't understand that Tommy was poison. He just needed to make it to the rail road station, then he could hop onto a train and get far away. Then all he would need to worry about would be where he would sleep and how he would get food.

Tommy had left around three. The professor didn't realize that the young boy was missing until a little after six, when he forced himself into the boy's room to try to convince him to come down to dinner. One look at the ransacked room and the little robot with the watch placed right next to him and Moshimo knew that the boy had ran off. But, he didn't understand why. He hadn't managed to scare off Tommy, had he? He knew that he wasn't the most talkative man in the world, but he had tried to be there for Tommy. He just didn't know how to proceed with the conversations that he and the tween needed.

Moshimo yelled down for Miumiu to get the jet ready to go and activated Robotboy.

The little robot was happy to see him, but then was confused when he looked around the room and didn't see his best friend he looked at the professor and gave him a confused glance."Where Tommy?" he asked.

"I am not sure at the moment Robotboy," Moshimo said, "It appears that Tommy has run away."

At the confused look the robot gave him, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "When someone packs up their belongs and leaves without anyone knowing and without the intention of ever coming back they have run away."

"Tommy run away?"

"Yes, and we need to find him as quickly as possible."

Robotboy was out the room and at the jet waiting for the professor before the older man was able to even turn around. "Must find Tommy!" the little robot shouted.

Once Moshimo arrived at the jet, Robotboy was about to short his circuits with his frantic pace and Miumiu was shaking, trying in vain to keep herself under control. He had seen her fight off men at least three times her size and not even flinch, so it was quite obvious how much Tommy meant to her. "It has appeared that Tommy has run away," Moshimo stated. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tear run down Miumiu's face, but he said nothing about it. "Robotboy, I want you to check the woods. Miumiu, you look around San Francisco, he may be trying to stay with one of his friends. See if they know anything, they may know why he ran off. I am going to look around the surrounding towns. He may be trying to avoid places that he knows because he knows that we would check there first. If no one finds him within two hours, we'll regroup here and call in the authorities. I want to try to avoid that at all costs though. If the authorities know, then there will be no doubt that Kamikazi will know as well."

Robotboy was gone in a flash, no doubt that he wanted to find his best friend before any harm came upon him. Miumiu went and started the car, but not before she ran over and practically crushed Moshimo with a bear hug. All he did was hold her and rubbed her back. He wanted to tell her that they would find him and everything would be fine, but he could not keep that promise. For all he knew, Tommy could be at the bottom of a cliff with another broken leg or trapped somewhere without food or water. But, no matter what, they would find him, no matter how long it took.

_Three Days Later..._

Tommy was absolutely positive he was going to die long before he managed to escape California.

The first night after he ran away the sky decided to open up and completely drench him. He managed to find shelter underneath someone's mobile home, but the moment the skies cleared up at daybreak he was on the road again. Within the next twelve hours he had developed a small fever that had escalated to something much worse during the days that came after.

He could no longer stop shivering, whether from the fever or from the fear of being discovered he no longer knew. The dizziness was nauseating and he hadn't ate much besides a half-eaten cheese burger he had found in a dumpster and some fruit he had swiped from an outdoor vender while he hadn't been looking. And it didn't help that the police were looking for him, along with Kamikazi. At least once every hour Tommy saw one of the tiny man's clones looking around for him. One time he had seen Robotboy fighting them, but he had run the opposite way as quickly as possible. As much as he wanted to be with the little robot right now he couldn't go back. They were much safer without him.

Today he was crouched underneath an old, abandoned pick-up truck. He wanted to keep moving, but he really couldn't. He was so dizzy he couldn't see straight and his legs refused to support him. He didn't really care who found him now. If they could make him feel better and let him sleep in a bed, he would go anywhere.

Tommy could hear the cars going down the main street of the town nearby. It wasn't exactly a large one, it had a few streets and some businesses, but it was mostly quiet and uninhabited. That was why he had chosen this place, it was quiet enough that it wouldn't worsen his headache. Plus, there was a nice woman who had given him a sandwich earlier, but he hadn't been feeling well enough to eat it yet. If he had known the real reason as to why the woman had been so nice, he would have steered clear of her.

She had seen the news earlier in the day saying that he was still missing after a three day search and that anyone with any information on the boy were to call the police or Professor Moshimo as soon as possible to ensure that Tommy made it home safely. Once she had gotten a good view of his face, she had called the professor, unaware that Kamikazi had hacked the line was listening to every word she said, sending out clones to retrieve the boy quicker than Moshimo could get in his care to retrieve him.

So, when a large humanoid warthog drug Tommy out of his hiding place, the young boy put every ounce of his strength into fighting off the beast, though it wasn't much. He knew he was totally screwed. Kamikazi had found him and would use him as bait to get Robotboy. Then he would reprogram the robot into a chaos-causing machine and take over the world. And it would all be Tommy's fault.

Before he had another chance to dwell on this new development, he was taken from the warthog and was cradled in the crook of something metal. Tommy blearily opened his eyes to Robotboy, in super activation mode, taking out the clones with his right hand while cradling him in his left. As much as he didn't want to return to Moshimo and have to explain everything or try to make another escape attempt, he much rather a worried and angry professor over Kamikazi.

Suddenly, they were flying and Tommy was so disorientated that he started to heave what little acid he had in his stomach. When he was done, Tommy looked at Robotboy. He was staring at the frail little human intently, as if trying to decide what to do with him now that he was safely in his grasp. All Tommy could do was smile before the darkness consumed him.

Over the course of the next few days, Tommy was barely conscious. The few moments of clarity he had were filled with three worried voices and something metallic pressed up against his side. So, when he was able to keep himself awake for more than a few moments, Tommy took inventory of where he was.

The room was obviously not a hospital room, as all of his possessions were there, the walls were a calm shade of blue, and the bed felt less like a board and more like a cloud. He was in his room at Moshimo's lab. The metallic object pressed up against his side was Robotboy, clutching desperately to his arm, afraid that he would disappear into thin air once again. Moshimo was seated at Tommy's desk on the other side of the room, dead to the world.

Tommy groaned, causing Robotboy to snap his head up. Once he realized that Tommy was actually awake and not in a fevered dream he broke into a wide smile. Before Tommy knew it, he had a robot wrapped around his middle, laughing and cheering so loud that he woke Moshimo.

"Tommy awake!" Robotboy shouted, "Moshimo, look! Tommy awake!"

Moshimo smiled and stood from his perch, cracking his back as he did so. Tommy couldn't look the aging professor in the face. He had probably worried the man half to death and he didn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes.

He's distracted from those thoughts when Robotboy bops him on the nose. "Bad Tommy!" he says. "No run away! Tommy scare Robotboy!"

Tommy can't help the small grin from forming on his face. "I'm sorry Ro," he says, "I promise that I won't do it again." Well, isn't that a big, fat lie. But, he really has no idea what else to tell the little robot.

"Robotboy, why don't you go tell Miumiu that Tommy is awake?" Moshimo says, before giving Tommy a look that he can't identify as anxiousness or disappointment, "Please take your time. Tommy and I need to have a talk and privacy is needed."

Robotboy is torn for a moment, but a look from Moshimo send the robot on his way. Tommy can't help but want Robotboy back by his side. Logically, he knows that Moshimo will never hurt him, that he wouldn't dare hit him, but another, more instinctive part of him fears the professor. This part of him is used to others pushing him around and using him as a punching bag. This part fears Moshimo will do the same.

Put the only physical contact that comes is a large hand being placed softly upon his shoulder. Warily, Tommy raises his eyes to meet the professor's. Instead of the disappointment he expects it's relief and doubt he sees. He could understand the relief part, it must be a great load off his shoulders now that he doesn't have to worry about Tommy dying from a dangerously high fever, but what could the doubt be about?

"Tommy, is everything alright?"

The fake smile goes on before he can do anything to stop it. "Everything's fine Professor." he lies between his teeth.

The look in Moshimo's eyes tell Tommy that he isn't buying it. "Miumiu went and talked with Lola," Moshimo says.

All hopes of Moshimo not finding out about what happened at school go out the window. The smile vanishes and his eyes divert to the window, wishing for escape.

The professor's other hand reaches for his chin and gently force him to look at him. "Please Tommy," he says, "tell me what is happening inside and outside that head of yours. Maybe I can be of some assistance?"

Even though every part of his beings is telling him not too, he tells. The little details come first, the last attempt at trying to hide how bad things really are. As he goes, the more information comes out. Things he never even thought about telling Moshimo come flying out of his mouth quicker than he can think. Faintly, he realizes that he is crying, but he can't stop the tears. Every little thing he's kept bottled up since he was little comes tumbling out. How he blamed himself for the longest time for the stupidest things. Like, when he was a toddler and he blamed himself when Donnie beat him up because he wasn't strong enough. Or when he was eight and his dad forgot his name, he blamed himself then because he obviously hadn't done enough to make him note-worthy in his father's eyes.

When he's finished, his face is stained red and he's hiccuping so hard he's sure that his lungs are going to come out next. But he feels lighter than he has ever felt. The feeling of safety also envelopes him as Moshimo holds him tight against his chest. He knows that once this moment is over and Tommy pulls himself together there are going to be consequences for his actions; there is no way his isn't grounded after the stunt he pulled, but he doesn't care. He wants to be punished, he wants Moshimo to teach him right from wrong, something his father had never done. He wants Moshimo to make everything alright again.

"Everything is going to be alright Tommy," Moshimo says, "You are in so much trouble, but it's going to be alright. We'll fix this... Together."


End file.
